Nov. 23, 2009

2009 All-Big Ten Conference Office Release (PDF Format)

2009 All-Big Ten Teams (PDF Format)

EVANSTON, Ill. -- A pair of Northwestern defensive backs have been named All-Big Ten first team honorees, leading a group of seven Wildcats to earn all-conference accolades in 2009, announced today (Nov. 23) by the Big Ten conference office.

Senior Sherrick McManis (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) was a first-team selection of the media and a second-team pick of the coaches, while classmate Brad Phillips (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) earned a first-team nod from the coaches and a second-team vote from the media. McManis also is Northwestern's 2009 Sportsmanship Award honoree.

McManis leads the Wildcats with four interceptions on the year in nine games played. He returned from a leg injury early in the season to record a team-best 11 passes defended, a forced fumble and 34 tackles. Phillips paces Northwestern with 84 tackles on the year, forcing a team-high four fumbles and making three sacks while battling through several nagging injuries to play all 12 games.

Mike Kafka (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita) was the second-team All-Big Ten quarterback choice of both the coaches and the media. Despite suffering an injury against Penn State on Oct. 31, Kafka rallied to start all 12 games for NU and lead the Wildcats to a 3-0 November with wins over a pair of nationally ranked foes. He has totaled 2,898 yards passing and 12 touchdowns with a .657 completion percentage on the year. He also has racked up 3,163 yards of total offense, the fourth-best total in school history. In Big Ten play, Kafka hit the 300-yard passing mark four times, went 6-of-8 conference contests without throwing a pick and finished the year with 116-straight pass attempts without an interception.

Also a consensus second-team All-Big Ten pick was junior place-kicker Stefan Demos (Scottsdale, Ariz./Horizon), who was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week three separate times in 2009. Demos has made 18-of-23 field goal attempts on the year, good for fourth-most makes in a single season and two shy of the school record. He twice hit four field goals in a game during Big Ten play and nailed last minute game winners against both Eastern Michigan and Indiana.

Senior Zeke Markshausen (Capron, Ill./North Boone) earned a second-team All-Big Ten selection from the media after ranking second in the Big Ten in receptions per game with 6.58. After entering the year with one catch in his career, Markshausen has snared 79 thrown balls in 2009, tied for fourth on NU's single-season list. He also threw for his first-career touchdown pass in NU's 33-31 win over No. 17 Wisconsin last Saturday.

Corey Wootton (Rutherford, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) and Al Netter (Rohnert Park, Calif./Cardinal Newman) both earned honorable mention All-Big Ten accolades from the coaches and the media. Netter has started every game at left tackle this year for Northwestern, while Wootton battled back from his horrific knee injury in the 2008 Alamo Bowl and a mid-season ankle sprain to record four sacks, four quarterback hurries and six TFL's through the regular season.

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